The Tenth Amendment - Research Paper Example

Your The Tenth Amendment Introduction The Tenth Amendment of the US Constitution guarantees that the Federal Government has control over the States’ rights. The constitution states that the Tenth Amendment only gives limited and enumerated powers. Thus, it means that the power of the Federal Government would theoretically be a non-issue since all the other powers still lie on the States. The Tenth Amendment is stated like this: “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.” The Tenth Amendment was put into writing by the Founding Fathers mainly to prevent the Federal Government to become too powerful, especially when it comes to controlling their laws. Without the Tenth Amendment, the Federal Government can actually dictate all the states’ behavior and laws, and the Founding Fathers did not want a remote, strange power to rule them over from afar. As much as possible, they wanted to retain their local laws; the ones that they made specifically for themselves. However, after several years and loopholes, the idea of preserving the local laws against the powers of the federal government has changed. Many people want to secede the Tenth Amendment because the Federal Government is still on everyone’s lives even if the Tenth Amendment is still on effect. History of the Tenth Amendment To better understand the modern-day issue of the Tenth Amendment, one should look back at its roots and check out the reasons why it has been added in the Bill of Rights. One should remember that there was no United States before, only states (colonies) that were under the British Empire, and they rebelled together. These thirteen colonies gained their independence from the British Empire on July 2, 1776. Now as soon as they declared independence, these thirteen colonies immediately became sovereign states. They were countries with their own government. They had no other legal obligations towards other states, unless they were going to discuss dealings with Great Britain. After the colonies garnered their independence, though, they had thought of uniting themselves, forming an organization of states. It was Richard Henry Lee of Virginia who proposed to Congress on June 6, 1776 that “That a plan of confederation be prepared and transmitted to the respective Colonies for their consideration and approbation.” During the summer of 1777, the Congress studied the plan and the bill was ratified and formally adopted by Congress on November 1977. This was now known as the Articles of Confederation. With this article, each state had to choose whether or not it wants to be a part of the new Union or not. On March 1, 1781, Maryland was the last state to join the Union and has ratified the article. Thus, on that date, the thirteen states became one nation. The major reason why the people took so long to decide whether or not they want to become part of the Union was their fear of losing their local rights to a new government, which is now “national”. One must understand that they were just freed from an imperialist government, and they were tentative about forming a new one, for the fear making another tyrannical government that they will help create. Thus, they made an effort to control the powers of their new government. The Founding Fathers included this statement in the Articles of Confederation as the Article II: “Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled.” With this article, the Founding Fathers made it clear that they only wanted the Central Government to have limited power. However, this new form of government was so weak that it can’t even collect taxes that it eventually dissolved. In lieu of that, they made the Constitution of the United States. Like the Articles, the Constitution limits the power of the Federal Government. After that, the constitution had to be ratified for it to become a law. Of course, the States’ right over the people came up again while discussing the new Constitution’s pros and cons. Most of the people were concerned that the Federal Government (the Constitution) was getting too much power away from the States. This issue broke the people: the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists. The Federalists want to have a strong central government so that it can have the power to actually impose their presence, unlike the government they had under Articles of Confederation. The Federalists were John Adams, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington. The Anti-Federalists wanted the States to have more power than the central government just to weaken the central government. George Mason and Thomas Jefferson were the popular Anti-Federalists. According to the Anti-Federalists, the Constitution does not spell out the rights of the people for them to be protected against the intrusion of the government. This involves natural rights such as Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Religion and Freedom from Cruel and Usual Punishment. For them, these points should be added to the Constitution. The Federalists on the other hand, believe that the Constitution does not give powers to the Federal Government when it comes to these issues, because it only has specifically mentioned powers. They believed that adding the specific requests on the Anti-Federalists would prove to be more dangerous than what already exists in the Constitution. This is because, they thought, that if they listed certain rights (which are said to be protected by the Constitution), then the rest of the unlisted rights are not protected. Thus, the Ninth Amendment was added. The Ninth Amendment states: “The enumeration in the Constitution, of certain rights, shall not be construed to deny or disparage others retained by the people.” This means that even if a right is not mentioned, it does not mean that it is not protected from the intrusion of the government, especially natural rights, which are too many. It is stated that the government cannot meddle on those rights even if they are not mentioned in the Constitution. Because of this conflict, the ratification was proving to be a problem. Thus, the Federalists from Maryland came up with a solution: a compromise agreement. They urged the Anti-Federalists to agree and ratify the law and then they would add their suggested amendments on the law during the first Congress. The Anti-Federalists ratified it, and on March 4, 1789, a new Federal Government was born. James Madison submitted twelve amendments on June 8, 1789 and ten of these twelve amendments became the law, and it is now known as the Bill of Rights. The tenth amendment is on the Bill of Rights, and the Tenth Amendment was in it. It became the law on December 15, 1791. As was noted, the words of the tenth amendment in the Constitution was still similar from its words from the Articles of Confederation and this has proved to worry the Founding Fathers, as with regards to the same issue of the government being too obtrusive. This has been an important issue. Analysis The founders felt the need to create the 10th Amendment to remind the national government that the states as individuals do not answer to a national government. They did not want the states to be united by submission to a federal government, but united by the constitution and their right to self-govern. When the 10th Amendment was created it was more common for people to say "The United States are" than "The United States is". This was the idea that while being a common nation, every state had the right to sovereignty. If you follow a strict interpretation of the constitution this amendment absolutely does not permit secession. However, this raises the question of, what are states to do when the federal government violates the 10th amendment. The founders intended for the Supreme Court to override federal violations of the 10th amendment, although many violations have gone unchecked. No single state has the right to leave the union without being treated as a rebellion. The United States are just that, united, and not a collection of independent nations. The intention of creating the United States was to create a mix of sovereign states and a united nation. The states are not entirely independent nor are they entirely under the power of singular common rule. The question naturally arises when the federal government mandates new laws. As a member of the Union, one must follow the orders of the Federal Government unless one wants to be known as a rebel. This is not the original vision that the Founding Fathers wanted for America. For them, America was a collection of different States: a collection of different “small countries” with their own local governments, laws and cultures. The Federal Government was only there to look over the states and unite the states in times of need. The Federal Government will only act as a manager of these States, and will act as a prime tax collector and infrastructure developer, in order for the United States to become a better nation. The statement “United we stand; Divided we fall” echoes that same sentiment. Should one secede? That is the question. The right to secede is not particularly illegal in the United States under the Tenth Amendment (because it is not specified!). This is supported by the historical fact that the States (then not United) had the right to secede in 1776 but they did not give up that right when they were forming the new Constitution. On the contrary, several states noted that the powers of the government “may be reassumed by the people, whensoever it shall become necessary to their happiness”. Then, after it was ratified, the Tenth Amendment made it clear that a right may not need be expressly or specifically granted by the Constitution to the State. Corollary, the State is presumed to have such power on its own. At this time and age, when the Federal Government has become powerful and most of the people do not really care about the issue of being “United” in the “United States”, the issue remains to be a significant one. Of course, after it has been ratified, it has rarely figured in court battles. In fact, it never figured in any court battle 150 years after it has been ratified because the people were too scared of being imperialistic themselves. In Roosevelt’s time, in the Great Depression, he made this New Deal programs that had the Federal Government take care of the economy. Since the Great Depression stalled the economy, the Federal Government was charged to uplift it with new programs designed to boost the economy. Many people employed with the Federal Government just to earn money and also because of their work programs. After that, the people looked at the Federal Government as something bigger than their local states. The people shifted their priorities since they looked at the Federal Government played a bigger role in their lives. The Federal Government was now their savior. Because of this renewed hope, the people depended on the Federal Government from that time on. The people left the idea that the Federal government had limited power. Because of the people’s need, the Government took on a much bigger role. Today, they regulate industries in the States, like the agriculture and manufacturing. They were once controlled by State laws. This is because of the three clauses of the constitution: the commerce clause, taxing and spending clause and the necessary and proper clause. The commerce clause states that the Congress shall have the power to regulate with foreign nations, several states and Indian tribes. The tax and spending clause tells that the Congress shall have power to lay and collect Taxes, Duties, Imposts and Excises, to pay the Debts and provide for the common defense and general welfare of the United States; but all Duties, Imposts and Excises shall be uniform throughout the United States. The necessary and proper clause states that the Congress shall have power to make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof. These imposing loopholes in the Tenth Amendment gave the Amendment itself and the government such power. For example, in the tax and spending clause, the federal government can virtually blackmail a state. Because the Congress is the one holding the nations’ taxes, it controls how the taxes are to be used and to be disseminated. The national drinking age for example, was imposed on the States. If there is a state that would not comply with the directive, the Congress would withhold any highway construction funds for the State. This actually happened in South Dakota in 1987, when South Dakota even sued Elizabeth Dole, the Secretary of Transportation at the Time. There was another case in 1942 called Wickard vs. Filburn in which the Supreme Court granted the Congress power to regulate a small family wheat farm. It was a small farm, fit for personal consumption. Since the Congress now has the Commerce clause, the responsibility of managing a farm was given to them because if one farm will not buy wheat from the market, the price of the wheat in the market will change; or if he would sell in the market. Since economy was just jumpstarting this time in 1942, the Congress took over it. The Necessary and the Proper clause is also one of the most easily abused loophole in the Tenth Amendment. Since it states that any law can be made as long as it is necessary and proper, any other member of the Congress can actually make a law or do anything it wants to. This clause is often used as a justification of their behavior, from the people of the Congress and/or Federal Government. However, when the Congress is about to (seemingly) lose a case, they pass the responsibility to the local state. For example in the Garcia vs. San Antonio Metropolitan Transit Authority in 1985, Garcia posed a question regarding the State of Texas’ capacity of paying their workers wages’ according to the Federal minimum wage guidelines. The court said that it was a matter of State Sovereignty, not a Federal matter. Conclusion The Tenth Amendment is seemingly a futile amendment. It seeks to protect the people but at the same time, it is too unspecific or too full of holes when it comes to actually put it into effect. Although it has been made with the protection of people in its mind, the people then were different from the people now. The political and social milieu then was different. The problem with the Tenth Amendment is that it’s easily abused by the powers that be, and that is Congress. Although the people trust the Congress will not endanger its people, the mere fact that they can actually control freedom and the States can be really terrifying. The hope of a “United States” as in the independent cooperative made by states themselves, is gone, replaced with a United States which is run and ruled by a Congress which seeks to control every aspect of their citizens’ lives. The bad thing about the Tenth Amendment is that the people can have no defense against it. The people are to be judged by the Congress and the Supreme Court, and Justice is only on their hands. This puts too much power on these offices. The Tenth Amendment was put by the Founding Fathers to remind the States to be individualistic and self-govern; not to follow a national government. However, this has all changed as the people now depend on the national government for salvation against poverty and such. The local government has been stripped of its power. Why? Because of the need for a more powerful icon, a movement that empowers states. The Tenth Amendment is both a gift and a curse. It can save the economy but then, it can also be abused. The only salvation here is that the people should vote for who is a worthy public official that can be trusted with this immense power. References: McPherson, J. Abraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990. Print.  "The Bill of Rights: A Transcription". United States National Archives and Records Administration. Web. Retrieved 28 November 2011. 10th Amendment Resolutions – Tenth Amendment Center". Tenthamendmentcenter.com. Retrieved 28 November 2011 Yale Law School Avalon Project. "Articles of Confederation from Yale University". Retrieved 28 November 2011. Stampp, K. Ed., The Causes of the Civil War. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, Inc., rev. ed. 1974. Print. Thomas Jefferson: A Life. New York: Henry Holt, 1993. Print. Read More